


A Midsummer Dream

by LionessRinoaVIII



Series: SMAA Collection [5]
Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Awkward Crush, Awkward Romance, Companion Piece, F/M, Fluff without Plot, Headmaster Squall Leonhart, One Shot, POV First Person, POV Original Character, Parent Rinoa Heartilly, Parent Squall Leonhart, Post-Canon, President Rinoa Heartilly, Rejection, SeeD Ball, Teen Romance, Timber Garden, Timber Liberation, seed - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24444493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LionessRinoaVIII/pseuds/LionessRinoaVIII
Summary: Set in the POV of a Cadet at Timber Garden trained under Squall Leonhart himself, recounting the blossoming romance between said Cadet and Squall and Rinoa's daughter, Julia. On the eve of Julia's seventeenth birthday, the pair are preparing to graduate as SeeD's, following in Squall's footsteps. As it was with her parents before her, what is the SeeD graduation ball without someone to waltz with?
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: SMAA Collection [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765453
Kudos: 1





	A Midsummer Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Xadrea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xadrea/gifts).



It was in the summer of my eleventh year at Garden that I graduated as a full-fledged SeeD. Like my mentor before me, I busted my ass to specialize in the gunblade, and I accomplished that an entire year ahead of my peers. My ambitions had pushed me into a graduating class with Julia Leonhart, another gunblade specialist at the top of our ranks. A student I respected more deeply than any other.

Her father, Headmaster Leonhart, had proudly arranged the SeeD ball following our graduation ceremony that year himself. Everything I knew about the gunblade I had learned from him. Hell…everything I knew about being a man, I knew from him. He had practically brought me up as one of his own…I hadn't had the opportunity to know my father before he passed. It was the Headmaster I was speaking to that balmy July afternoon. It was a few short hours from being his daughter’s birthday, and he was eager to get everything prepared for our graduation. He could think of no better present for her seventeenth birthday than falling among a rank of his own. I knew him to be right. Julia had been a good friend to me over the years, I knew she wanted to make her father proud.

The Headmaster’s forehead was puckered, and he wiped beads of sweat from his face with the sleeve of his thick leather bomber jacket. I had never understood why he almost never took that thing off. It was ninety degrees out. He caught me staring, and my dark brown eyes darted immediately to my hands. “Is there a problem, Cadet?”

I shook my head, straightening my body out to salute him. Care for and admire him as I did, the Headmaster scared the piss out of me. This man had built an entire Garden and nation out of the pure devotion he had for President Leonhart. He was the greatest Knight to any Sorceress in history. I ached for that kind of purpose. His hard grey-blue eyes bore into me, demanding an answer, and my cheeks flushed as I struggled to stammer out a response. “N-No, Sir. It’s just…you might be cooler unencumbered, Sir.”

Headmaster Leonhart seemed to think my response strange, and my face grew hotter as he stared me down. I was not unused to his scrutiny, but he was an intense man to be around. I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to have him as an actual father. “You’re worried about how I’m dressed? I seem to doubt your uniform breathes any better.” The Headmaster shrugged as he spoke. “So…whatever.”

“W-Whatever, yes Sir.”

The Commander smirked at my awkwardness and chuckled to himself as he clapped a hand down on my shoulder. I steeled myself not to jump clean out of my skin. I was already embarrassed; I would be damned if my commanding officer knew I was this pathetic. “Cadet Mamoru. Breathe a little. Why don’t you go down to the Quad and help Cadet Leonhart with the decorations for the upcoming festival? I’ve got the ball covered.”

My heart stuttered in my chest and I avoided his gaze as I spoke. “Which Cadet Leonhart? There are two, Sir.”

The Headmaster looked annoyed for a moment before shooing me off with a wave of his gloved hand. “Which do you think? Julia. Noctis isn’t as involved in the Garden as she is. You know that.” I did. I knew a lot about Julia…and I had been afraid he was going to say that. I swallowed hard. The thought of being around her made me almost as nervous as he did.

Julia Raine Leonhart was the sun to my moon in a manner of speaking. I had always been a more reserved child, and that was part of the reason we weren’t quite as close as I’d have hoped by then. Julie hadn’t met a stranger her entire life. She was always so happy, like sun shining through a cloudy afternoon. She was adventurous in a way that made me jealous, and I had always strived to keep up with her. It wasn’t until the year we had turned fifteen however, that I had noticed all the things that accompanied the sparky personality I’d become so fond of.

Her long brunette hair was softer than silk, and her bangs framed the edges of her lovely face. Julie’s eyes were as grey as her father’s but infinitely warmer, and gentle. Her skin was soft for someone who had seen combat, and her figure was that of an hourglass. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and boy did she know it. Julia had always been a bit of a flirt.

I had spent the last two years of our schooling pining after her, and now her father expected me to what—sit idly by while she decorated the Quad? Sending me to clean the bathrooms on Garden’s second floor would have been more merciful. Sweat collected at my hairline as I ambled down the steps and away from the Headmaster. I pushed my short black bangs from my forehead and attempted to shake my nerves off as I bounced closer to my destination.

The Quad was not too far from the infirmary, where Headmaster Leonhart and I had been conversing. I had gone to speak with him regarding my scores on the field exam, and he had been with the President, who was being checked for dilation by the school doctor. Madam President was very heavy with the Commander’s third child, and it would not be long now. We were all very excited to meet the new little one, because the coming birth likely meant a break from our studies. The Headmaster had suspended everything when his son had been born, he wanted to be home to support his wife. He was whole heartedly the type of man I wanted to become.

I grumbled to myself at the amount of stairs it took to reach the outdoor meeting area, knowing I would be drenched by the time I made it to the stage. Timber could be brutal in the summer time. The summers here aren’t as scorching as they are in Balamb from what I had gathered from transfer students, but Timber’s humidity could be atrocious. Bugs were also a significant issue in our neck of the woods that time of year, since our homeland is largely comprised of a vast forest landscape. I swatted a few rogue mosquitos from my face as I finally approached the angel hanging twinkling lights from the tip top of the stage’s wooden structure.

Julia’s back was to me, and I admired the cute way her navy uniform hung from her petite frame. She had not inherited her father’s stature; she was a spitting image of her mother. Quit comparing the woman you love to her dad, you imbecile. I chastised myself bitterly, attempting to put the thoughts from my head as I struggled to find my voice. What would I even say to her?

“I can feel you lurking.” She said in a sing-song voice, jarring me into action as I stumbled away from her. Her laugh was like wind chimes, and she turned to look at me with a happy and utterly disarming smile. She put her arms behind her back and leaned forward playfully, clearly enjoying the redness that spread throughout my cheeks. “Whatever am I going to do with you, Tatsuki?”

“J-Julie.” I tried to smile at her, but I just looked constipated and weird. My tongue felt like it was swelling in my mouth. “Your father thought you could use some help with the decorations.”

A small pout curled at the corner of her mouth and I instantly regretted speaking a word to her. How did I manage to say something wrong already? “Oh.” She responded flatly. “You only came to see me because my dad asked you to?”

That hadn’t been what I had meant at all, but I didn’t know how to say so. She looked so...disappointed. I looked down at my shoes for a moment, chewing on my bottom lip as I fidgeted with the hilt of my gunblade. “It’s not just that. I wanted to ask you something, if you’ll allow it.”

Julia rolled her steel eyes and shook the melancholy from her expression with a wistful smile. “I don’t wear the Commander or the President’s daughter like a title, you know. You can talk to me like I’m your friend. You don’t need permission to ask me a question.”

Goddamn it. I had stuck my foot in my mouth again. “Y-Yes, ma’am.” You did not just ma’am her. “I was wondering if...you’d like to accompany me to the ball tonight.” I asked shyly, unsure of where my sudden courage had come from. It was about to be her birthday, and I had a learned how to waltz for the occasion. It was presumptuous of me in hindsight, to put all that work into something when I had no idea if she would accept, but I was hopeful.

Her face fell, and I knew at a single glance that I had blurred the line between what was possible and what was pure fantasy. I felt the rejection before she ever uttered a word. “Oh, Tatsuki...that’s so sweet of you. But, Soichiro already asked me. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s fine.” My voice was tighter than I intended for it to be, and I forced a bright smile in her direction. The very last thing I wanted was for her to feel guilty. “I hope you both have a wonderful time.” I meant that sincerely, even as a bitter jealousy blossomed in my chest. I had always hated Soichiro Yoshioka. Julia was mildly infatuated with him, it seemed, and he treated her coldly. I could deal with her dating someone else so long as she was happy, but watching her with someone toxic set my blood alight.

Julia scratched the back of her head, and despite my efforts in putting on a happy face, she seemed gutted, as if she were afraid she had hurt my feelings. I couldn’t stand that pained expression on her sweet face, and I opened my mouth to assure her that I was fine when she grabbed for a box of props and slapped a sheepish smile to her face. “I should really be getting these props to Instructor Tilmitt. I’ll be seeing you at the graduation, yeah? Good luck!”

I wanted to offer to help, but she bolted from my side and up the steep steps like a bat out of hell. My heart sank into my stomach and I took a seat on a marble bench near the stage equipment. I blew a dejected sigh from my nose and slid my phone from my pocket. I had been having a hard time managing stress as it was with everything that I’d poured in to the SeeD exam, and I was suddenly missing home terribly. My mother, Hina, worked at the Timber Pet Shop near the train station, not too terribly far from where the Garden was stationed. I wanted to hear her voice.

The phone rang for what seemed like an eternity before her bubbly tone filled my ears, and I smiled though tears were pooling in my eyes. I really needed to get a better handle on my emotions. Commander Leonhart would have been ashamed. “Hi, Mom. How are things back at the house? Are you--” There was a sudden beep in my ear before I could finish my sentence, and I realized I had reached her voicemail. Well...that’s fantastic. My tears threatened to spill over, when I heard a familiar voice from a few paces north of me. I lifted my eyes to see none other than the President herself, cradling her hands on her swollen abdomen.

“Squall told me to come and get you and Jules. He’s bringing the car around so I don’t have to do so much walking. Our new addition could come any second now.” Her smile was so motherly that it almost broke my heart. “Where is she?”

I was at a loss. “S-She went to--” Madam President waved her hand at me dismissively and another warm smile graced her round features. I could see where Julia had gotten her grace. Rinoa Leonhart was a masterpiece in and of herself. The Headmaster was a lucky man.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll call her. Why don’t you wait with me? You can come have dinner with us before the big graduation. I should be on bed rest, so I can’t really go...so you better believe I’m cooking a hell of a meal for you kids.” She was being too sweet to me, and things were so awkward with Julie. I had to politely decline.

“N-No ma’am, please don’t trouble yourself with--”

The President scowled at me playfully and put her hands on her wide hips. “Nonsense. Any friend of my daughter is a friend of mine. Besides, Squall speaks so highly of you, you know? Come on!” She linked her arm in mine and grinned, as if she had decided to bring me in to her fold. I was terrified, but at the same time it touched my heart. The only thought on my mind...was that one day I hoped Julia would be having dinner with my own mother. And for once, much to my surprise and delight, it was a dream that actually came true, several years later.

**Author's Note:**

> Characters belong to Square Enix.


End file.
